x

Five With National Squads - Ipswich Town News

Town have five players away on international duty this week, the most since relegation from the Premiership.

Stand-in skipper Jason De Vos has flown to Canada where he will skipper former Blue Frank Yallop's side in their first WorldCup qualifying semi-final group game against Guatemala in Vancouver on Wednesday.

Town have three players in Peter Taylor's England U21 squad; Darren Bent, who has five caps, Matt Richards and Ian Westlake who are first-time call-ups.

Taylor has long been an admirer of the Blues' youth system, regularly calling on the services of Kieron Dyer, Richard Wright, David Johnson and James Scowcroft in his previous spell with England. The current Hull boss also signed Scowcroft when manager at Leicester.

Taylor's side face the Ukraine at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night in a game being shown live on Sky Sports One (7.30pm).

Second choice keeper Lewis Price will be looking to win his first Welsh U21 cap when he travels to Riga for a game with Latvia on Wednesday afternoon.

Striker Shefki Kuqi was called into a provisional Finland squad for their match against Romania but was ultimately left out of the travelling party.

What to read next:

Town 'Willing to Pay Hackney ÂŁ35,000-a-Week'
Town are reportedly willing to pay Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney ÂŁ35,000-a-week, TWTD having revealed that the Blues had made an approach for the 23-year-old almost a fortnight ago.
U21s Defeated By Luton
A strong Blues U21s side was beaten 2-1 by Luton Town at Bent Lane in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon with Tommy Taylor's first-half strike cancelled out after the break by a much-improved Hatters side.
U19s Draw and Lose Final Games at Czech Tournament
Town’s U19s finished lost one and drew one of today’s place play-off matches at the Zlaty Kahan tournament in Czechia.
Hirst: Early Confrontation Sign of Morsy's High Standards
George Hirst has revealed he almost came to blows with departed captain Sam Morsy early in his Town career, but believes the incident was illustrative of the high standards maintained by the former Blues skipper.
Former Town Defender Ndaba Set For Serie A
Former Town defender Corrie Ndaba is set to join Serie A Lecce from Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock, according to reports in Italy.
McKenna: New Coach Stanislas Comes Highly Recommended
Town manager Kieran McKenna has spoken about the additions of new first-team coach Junior Stanislas and set-piece analyst Michele Aragona.
McKenna: Young Will Bring Experience, Competitiveness and Edge
Blues boss Kieran McKenna says new signing Ashley Young can give the club different things in different areas, among them his experience, competitiveness and his edge.
Hirst: I Thought We Played Really Well, But Aberdeen Gave Us a Massive Challenge
Town striker George Hirst was pleased to add to his pre-season goals tally during the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McKenna: Philogene Very Good Tonight, His Off the Ball Work Was Outstanding
Town manager Kieran McKenna was delighted with Jaden Philogene’s performance in the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McKenna: We Got What We Wanted From the Game
Town boss Kieran McKenna said he got what he wanted from the 3-1 friendly win at Aberdeen and believes his side is in general on the right track.